If you’ve been following our guide so far, you should now have a garden planted in good soil with your vegetables spaced to allow plenty of room once they’ve grown in. That was a fair bit of work, but you’re not done yet, at least not if you want to get anything when it’s time to start harvesting.

Now that your plants are in the ground, you’re going to have to take care of them. As always, there are a few different things you’re going to want to keep in mind.

If you’ve been following along on our series about starting your first garden, you have have already done quite a bit of the heavy lifting necessary for a successful garden. Unless, of course, you’re just reading the series to pass the time, maybe on your lunch break at work. Don’t worry, we won’t judge.

With our gardens ready to plant, it’s time for one of the more enjoyable parts of gardening: figuring out what you’re going to grow. Of course, just like anything else, you don’t want to just grab a bunch of random seeds and starters and cram them into the ground. Unless you want a big mess, of course.What To Consider When Selecting PlantsThere are a couple of major factors to keep in mind when you’re figuring out what kind of vegetables you want to plant:

Proper watering of your yard seems simple enough. Just water it? Right? Well, yes and a very big no. Watering your lawn with the proper technique is an important part of maintaining a healthy lawn. If you water it too little, then you could get the same results. If you are over-watering it then you can get a weak or shallow rooted lawn that is susceptible to drought and drying up. Lawns need about an inch of water a week to maintain the right amount of growth and strength which usually requires 2 to 3 watering sessions per week. So we’ll start by heading to the hardware store...

For many homeowners who are new to lawn care, one important component that they tend to overlook is the nutritional balance of the ground soil. Like any other plant, grass requires the right balance of nutrients in the soil in order to thrive. The next time you pick up lawn fertilizer, you should notice three important percentages on the product labeling. Combined, these three figures represent the N-P-K ratio. Each symbol represents a specific nutrient and the ratio is there to help gardeners recognize the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the fertilizer product. These numbers may seem somewhat intimidating at first. When do you know what ratio to use? Well, the following infographic by Organic Lesson should help you understand the basics of the N-P-K ratio. In the infographic, you can learn some basic rules on what ratio to use for specific stages of the lawn.

By now, you’re likely good and ready to break out the seeds or starter plants, and start putting things in the ground. I get it; it’s exciting. The prospect of growing your own green beans and tomatoes is thrilling. But don’t let the excitement overwhelm your good sense. Before you even thinking about planting anything, you need to get your garden soil ready to go.

A Cautionary TaleHe was filled with pride when he started up his new lawnmower for the first time. It had a wide deck, a self-propelled motor, and - best of all - claimed to be able to mulch up yard waste into a fine green mist, eliminating the need for raking or bagging. Since he was no fan or raking or bagging yard waste, he considered the new lawnmower to be a keen purchase indeed.

But when he finished mowing, his enthusiasm was somewhat diminished...

Recently, we discussed the importance of planning out your garden. If you missed that, go back and check it out now . Today, I want discuss an additional consideration before you actually start you garden: building raised garden beds.

Somewhere, in your most personal and private of thoughts, you know you’re paying too much for cucumbers and green peppers. It’s a gnawing feeling you have deep inside, but, try as you might, you simply can’t get it out of your head. This is only the beginning. Soon, you’ll be looking at other produce in the grocery store and wondering whether you couldn’t grow your own. Perhaps you might even become judgemental, secure in the knowledge that you could grow vegetables far superior to those available for purchase.

Congratulations. You have just taken your first steps into a much larger world. The world of gardening.

At long last, the snow seems to have stopped falling and we’ve enjoyed more than a few warm days. Spring is upon us, at last. Unless, of course, it isn’t. The weather can be tricky like that.

Regardless, odds are that the snow has, or is soon to be melted away, revealing your lawn underneath. If you are like a lot of people, you’re probably not completely happy about what you’re seeing. Perhaps your lawn looks mostly okay, but there are some bare spots here and there, or areas where the turf is thin thanks to heavy foot traffic.

Don’t worry, you can fix these minor problems and have a healthy lawn before summer. In fact, spring is the perfect time for doing patch work to ensure the new grass is able to grow in completely. Of course, if you don’t, you’re only inviting weeds to take up residence where your grass is thin. It’s always better to prevent the problem than try to fix it after the fact.

In order to maximize your efforts and ensure the best results, follow the below steps to fix bare of thin spots: